How You Know Eyes Are Watching You

You know that feeling you get when you're being stared at? Out of the corner of your eye, even outside your field of vision, you can just tell someone is checking you out, sizing you up, or trying to make eye contact with you. Sometimes it almost feels like ESP, this ability to detect another person stare, because it often comes at the fringes of our awareness.

But far from being ESP, the perception originates from a system in the brain that's devoted just to detecting where others are looking. This "gaze detection" system is especially sensitive to whether someone's looking directly at you (for example, whether someone's staring at you or at the clock just over your shoulder). Studies that record the activity of single brain cells find that particular cells fire when someone is staring right at you, but—amazingly—not when the observer's gaze is averted just a few degrees to the left or right of you (then different cells fire instead).

This specialized machinery in the brain reveals just how important your gaze is when communicating with others. Where you look conveys how you feel and what your intentions are, what you like and what you don't like, and directs attention to meaningful things in the environment. Further, making direct eye contact is the most frequent and perhaps the most powerful non-verbal signal we exchange with others; it's central to intimacy, intimidation, and social influence. Eye contact is so primal that its meaning extends across animal species: Predators stare intently before they pounce. Infants gaze at their parents to capture their attention. And as you probably know, humans and dogs can express many things to each other through eye contact alone.

Think of a time when you were out in public somewhere and you could sense someone was staring at you, without you even having to look in that person's direction. What information was your (peripheral) visual system using that led to this awareness?

The first things we usually notice are the other person's head and body positions. If either is pointed in your direction, especially in an unnatural way, this is a big tip-off. The most obvious case is when someone's body is pointed away from you, but their head is turned toward you. This then alerts you to pay closer attention to their eyes.

But even when head and body positions don't give us much information, studies find that our peripheral vision can still detect another's gaze remarkably well. How do we do this?

One factor goes back to our gaze detection system, which makes us more sensitive to the position of others' eyes than we realize. Another factor can be deduced by asking yourself this: How are human eyes different in their appearance from the eyes of other animals? What's unique about the anatomy of human eyes?

The biggest difference is that when looking at human eyes, it's easy to distinguish the dark center (the pupil and iris) from the rest of the visible eyeball (the sclera, the white part). These are hard to distinguish in other animals because: 1) in many animals, the pupil and iris cover most of the outward appearance of the eye, and 2) the sclera of other animals tends to be darker than the human sclera.

So humans have the greatest amount of visible white sclera. This contrast between the white sclera and the dark center makes it much easier to tell where someone is looking. We use a simple rule: dark in the middle of the eye = eye contact; dark on the right = looking right; dark on the left = looking left.

Assuming the head is stationary, consider how easy it is to follow the gaze of human eyes compared to the eyes of a gorilla, tiger, lemur, wolf, or owl.

Having such an easily detectable gaze would be a liability for many species, especially predatory ones. As a predator, you don't want others to know you're staring at them, so a darker, less visible sclera is ideal.

But human survival has come to depend more on cooperating and coordinating our efforts with other people, so communication skills have become more critical to our survival. Biologists suggest that our larger, whiter sclera evolved because they vastly improve our ability to communicate with others—the same reason our complex language capacities evolved. However, eye gaze can express many things that spoken language can't, or things that would take too long to verbalize, like imminent dangers in the environment.

True, having these eyes can make it harder to hide our emotions or to sneak up on prey, but on the whole, gaze signaling and gaze detection have been huge assets to us. That ESP-like feeling you get when you're being watched is your brain telling you, in a barely perceptible way, that something meaningful is happening.

Be more respectful of anecdotal evidence, is what a reader should take away from this article -- not closing their minds to the possibility of things with greater anecdotal evidence than the narrow aspect of the phenomenon presented in this article.

Ever since reading Sheldrake's book about people knowing when they are being stared at, I have experimented with this.

Typically, when riding as a passenger in a car on a crowded highway and coming up behind another driver, I will stare at them. Nine times out of ten, they will turn to look at me, even though that had not turned to look at the passenger in the car in front of mine.

Recently, I was driving down a crowded road in a small town, when I saw a police officer that looked like someone I knew.

Coming up behind him, I was staring at him trying to figure out, if he was the person I knew or a look alike. Suddenly, he turned his head to look at me over his shoulder, as the car approached him. He looked me right in the eyes, too.

Why did he look at me instead of the other passengers in the car in front of me?

I have exactly the same experience. When driving down the road I can look directly at someone on the sidewalk and they always give a subtle reaction. This is true even when they are faced completely opposite from my field of view.

I wanted to see if there is any research on the feeling of being stared at or looking at someone and I came across this article.
I instantly wasn't pleased with the explanation as I too have had many observations where you stare at someone from a position they can't even have seen you, people will notice and turn exactly to where it is coming from.

Interesting explanation of something I've often wondered about. But somehow I think there's more to it, perhaps on the most fundamental level: observation changes behavior. Wave states collapse into particles when they're watched. From mere potential, they become actual. Such quantum effects have recently been shown to apply not only to the tiny invisible but to the visible and tangible as well. Also, Biocentrism (Lanza) suggests that consciousness creates reality. So my consciousness connecting with yours, even by eye direction, is powerful -- perhaps sensed at a cellular, even subatomic level. Or, we are two flickers in one Consciousness, sharing a moment of intersection.

By the way, my blog post of yesterday is also about "reflections on the self, personality, and what makes you you."

Brent- your comment really struck home. I was lately reading about a similar explanation in the book "Hands of Light" by Barbara Brennen. Although it is a book primarily on energy healing, it covers the quantum aspects of reality too. How else does one explain the feeling that someone is looking at you from behind when they are out of even the peripheral view? Intuition?
I especially liked your statement, "Or, we are two flickers in one Consciousness, sharing a moment of intersection." Your blog on the nature of reality is fascinating. Thanks for sharing your insights.

Thanks, Scott. Glad we're on the same wavelength. I'm currently reading the book Biocentrism by Robert Lanza, which you may enjoy. It presents the radical idea that without consciousness to perceive it, nothing would actually exist.

Interesting. I read a series called "Seth Speaks" many years ago. The primary concept was that consciousness comes first then creates the reality. Matter, at its smallest, most basic level, constantly blinks in and out of physical reality and each time it blinks back in, its changed... by consciousness. All matter is connected by that conscious thought.

I like your reply. This was interesting, but doesn't explain how I can feel someone looking at me when they are behind me and in no way close enough for me to have caught in perph vision. EG: I feel I am being watched whilst on the beach, an over powering feeling that made me look around over and over. Eventually though I found the eyes - they were in a person standing on a deck on the cliffs way way above and behind us. I know he was looking cause once I spotted him I waved, and he waved back.

Biocentrism, and the newer book, Beyond Biocentrism, is a book I'm getting ready to read, as the quantum reality really intrigues me. What about the people you stare at who are across a parking lot, out of their field of vision? This kind of illustrates that consciousness pervades everything around us.
Also, experiments changing before our eyes simply because we are observing the experiment itself? (Double Slit Experiment) Wild!

Hello everybody, I am currently a freshman in college majoring in clinical psychology. I absolutely love how the mind works and how we as humans think. Can anyone recommend some good books that give a view on our world in a different view. Something along the lines of why humans think the way they do, or just in general good psychology books. thanks so much

Strange to call an article "How you know eyes are watching you" when it doesn´t give any answers to that question. He only says that it is not ESP and describes a process in the brain, but never even atempts to answer the question: how is this process triggered when the other person is OUTSIDE THE FIELD OF VISION?
Wasn´t that the point of the article?

The rest of the text only deals with eyecontact so no, with that title I think the article was pretty pointless.

The article is only good in how sensitive the brain is to this "7th sense", i.e. That visual movement is extremely important to us, so has not faded away.
That the article dismisses without evidence or testing the mechanism by which it works, and superstitously assumes it must be by glance etc, shows how poor many science types are. Rather than admit there is a mechanism that is unexplained, they make something up that fits their current beliefs.
Testing the phenomena would prove that there is something more "telepathic" (resonating neurons?? Based on self or familiar image?). It would also show that it varies between people, and varies depending on state of mind (eg when subconscious is neutral or lightly distracted), and between different people (eg men/women, angry/attracted). Also it would show that it's not only repeatable but trainable! So a person doing some training can affect blind people, blindfolded people, people ahead in cars or walking along street - indie practiced enough that they have to learn to turn it off.

What an anti-climactic article. I have always thought that this very phenomenon, sensing somebody staring you down from outside one's field of vision, is a link into an unbound science.

It happened to me less than a while hour ago, someone was about 50 ft. behind me, and I instinctively swiveled my head to see a man walking his dog. I couldn't hear him, I couldn't see him, but I was able to sense him. This article doesn't explain this at all.

I always "know" I'm healthier when I eat organic and farm-fresh food. My skin becomes fairer, my eyes clearer, and you can see it distinctively. However, according to "FDA studies," there is supposedly no difference, yet millions swear by healthier food.

There is something we don't know in science, and this article is a great example of proposing an interesting question, and not following up on it.

I know what you're saying, and I agree. There's been too many times I've caught people staring instantly from far outside my field of vision. What about when it comes to animals? The other night I was walking my dog around the back yard very late at night. All of a sudden; I just started to get this feeling of tension, like something was just staring me down like a piece of meat. I just kept looking up towards the woods and keeping an eye on my dog (which is small). As I was getting ready to walk away I suddenly seem something bound away at high speeds into the forest. We've got foxes in the area.

I remember in a book I read years ago; a character was commenting on the phenomenon of just knowing when someone has entered a room around you. He described it as a "bottom-of-the-barrel" sense; a collection of all the little changes that happen when someone is around: the difference of pressure, the smell, maybe even just the feeling of eyes on you. That's always stuck with me. I think it's a combination of this; as well as some of the quantum ideas above. It could be the way that the wavelengths that make up ourselves' clash when near each other for all we know.

I also remember case when gaze i could feel first and detected afterwords came from different building where person looked at me from behind the closed window - so no chance there could be some atmospheric changes, sound or smells i could detect. The only thing could be light,maybe, but how ?

i had an experience just last week when i was laying with my eyes closed inside a car with the windows up, i suddenly felt someones stare after being there for about 20 minutes and instantly looked to the spot where they were looking at me 6 floors up in a building beside me. i know there was zero external stimuli to prompt that, this article totally avoids those types of situations.

Have you ever got up for work at the usual time and felt something is out somehow, and went to make a cup of tea or coffe and couldnt get the timing wright, drop the spoon or just slightly miss the cup with the sugar this is your astral timing you are fractionally too far ahead or behind where you should be..

Dont worry you can correct this with concentration, you can drive to work thinking of one thing and then look up and wonder how you got where you are..

Again its concentration, timing seems to be the problem , its not its just concentration.

I've lost count of the number of times I have been looking at the back of of someone and they have turned around and stared directly at me. It happens so often I hardly find it unusual anymore. Just last week I watched a worker cleaning drains out in the street from out of the living room window. I was in the shade and not visible but he stood up, looked around, and then stared straight at me. Happens all the time.

Very interesting read. I don't think this process is very unlike ESP at all!

But I have a question. It IS possible that the "gaze detection" process can (somehow) malfunction, right? The reason I'm asking is because I have major social anxiety, and there are many times where I feel that I'm being stared at. (When probably, in fact, that is not the case.) This might be a different problem altogether, though. But I'm sure it confuses my true gaze detection into thinking nothing is truly staring at me.

I'm wondering how this impacts something like Skype? If you are looking at the other person, then your eyes aren't looking directly at the camera, so the other person perceives you as looking at their chin or chest. But are we getting use to that? Or doesn't that make it harder to connect online? Thoughts?

Good question. Neurons from our "eye contact detection system" would only fire if the person in the video were looking directly at our body's eyes (so looking straight into their camera), AND as long as the other person's image is good simulation of the real person. Since a lot of information is lost with a video image (like info about 3-D space that we have in person), our detection system is probably not very good at detecting eye contact from even a clear video image.

Eye contact is still meaningful when communicating through video, but doesn't have quite the same visceral power as it does in person.

Could also the perception of being stared at be to do with the brain recognising the reflection of light off a whole (and possibly symetrical?) face - something which we may be primed for as an evolutionary safeguard. A head even turned slightly away, would make staring difficult, reduce the area of reflection and be asymmetric. We may be primed to check or guard against light reflected objects that are head sized.

They don't even have to be looking in your general direction. I peaked through the window drape once because I saw a pretty girl. Her back was turned, but all of a sudden she turns around and looks right at me! Even if it wasn't directly at me, this was through a window pane and a about 2 inches of visibility, so it was still remarkable.

I searched in Google today about gaze detection and found this article because today I was looking at my son who didn't know that i am 5 meters behind him, looking at his BACK and then he turned around and told me he did it because he could feel that somebody is looking at him. The Article doesn't give explanation for that. I am completely on the science side and not at any kind mystical person so wonder what could be explanation of that. Please keep reaserching - that is interesting topic, i wish i would have education to complete it.

In my case it happens all-the-time . I have some unbelievable examples of this phenomena , the best one was 3 years ago with a loud motorized circular ccircular saw running in back yard , I was making some full-length slots in 4 foot by1 inch aluminum trim for poly windows so , very loud indeed . My yard is completetely fenced with privacy 6 foot vertical overlapping boards on two sides and chain-link and undergrowth/garden on other . The rear privacy fence is getting older but neighbours have coupled a new one which extends 2 more yard widths along the lane on garden side . In short I am completely private , there are no windows that can peer in to most locations on my property . Being 5.5 years retired now I am usually making noise running something , a lawnmower , generator , rototiller , various electric tools both battery and 120 volt powered (and always did make noise) I now try to keep it down on weekends for the sake of the still-working .
Now here is the particular episode I am describing , (one of many) , anyone who has experienced this phenomena knows that they really don't trust the intuition at first , will only remain suspiscious for a few moments , perhaps take a quick look around , if its dark out may even generate a certain chill along back and be a bit harder to dismiss .
So...I am in shorts and glasses and cutting alumimum channel slots lengthwise , anyone who may be doing a similar job would likely be more aptly dressed for protection , I have been handling power tools and aluminum all my life (almost lost a finger on a 10 inch circular saw with aluminum) , but this saw is a 10 inch table saw(only a 7-1/4 " blade installed)...with no guard and no safety merchanisms so I am paying extreme attention to details/fingers/alumDust everything . The saw is at ground level , I am working off my knees or in crouched position...sounds crazy to me even . A second "me" would have scolding words for this insane person .
Somewhere in middle of several cuts I get the feeling ...some of you have felt this "feeling" ...I know it well , I stop immediately , now remember I am looking down or at a downward angle with every ounce of concentration I can muster because I am being stupid and don't want to miss a thing during cuts and pay the price . I leave saw running but remove aluminum channel and now peer horizontally at back fence (50 feet away) . There is one or two cracks where a persistant person may peer through gate boards if right up against fence with eyeball but only if there interest was tweaked . I see nothing but daylight through those verticle gaps . But remember I am quite familiar and trusting of this "feeling" ...so I continue looking at back fence with noticeable intent . Intent to expose the culprit ...and I did , it took a good 30 , maybe 40 seconds but whoever it was I managed to stare down , I saw the shoe movement under fence (otherwise unnoticeable) through a horizontal gap that is not even viewable from my distance . I later went to gate and to my surprise there was a knot hole (1/2inch missing knot) at almost just the right height for someone to line up an eyeball to . The very next day I replaced a few of those boards with newer ones . Surprising event ? Happens quite frequently , rarely talk about it ...if you do a google search on this "feeling" you will get psychiatric links . Its like admitting you have seen a UFO , another story , another time .

My roommate has multiple cameras around the house that he can check online anytime he's away working if he likes but what's odd is how aware and sensitive my awareness is to these cameras if he ever peeks in to check on me live I catch him immediately (a Lil blue light on the camera lights up so I know I did catch him watching but I feel it before I notice the light; and that is completely spontaneous times I have no idea he's going to look and just whatever I'm doing I feel immediately I'm being watched so much that even when he sets the cameras to a timer and I'm completely unaware of the time always (no watch even my cell phone time Is always off) but I can sense the moment the cameras start watching me it's pretty crazy.... he says I've caught him every time he's peeked in live which is pretty intense how sensitive my awareness is to them; even when he has just sets it and it continues to go off he will notice I gaze directly at the camera everytime sometimes like 50 times in a row and sometimes I feel I have to fight looking back at it because I can feel I'm being watched but I'm trying to do something else it's very uncomfortable sensation

I have lost count of the number of people I have been looking at from behind as I drive, who then turn to look directly at me for no apparent reason. My car is no louder or different to other cars, and it happens in any vehicle.

I have lost count of the number of people I have been looking at from behind as I drive, who then turn to look directly at me for no apparent reason. My car is no louder or different to other cars, and it happens in any vehicle.

I'm sorry but unless proof is provided I call most of this speculation at best. Everyone is forgetting a major occurrence: when we start at butts. Men and women do this all the time, they stare at butts they find attractive, sometimes even turning their head to follow the person's butt around and the person will not realize it. Why does our special ability not fire up in these situations? This refutes a lot of the evolutionary theory and stuff since reproduction is as important as survival so males and females would also develop to find partners easier through the special vision thing. Can someone say something about this case? Starring at people's butts don't trigger this behavior most of the time?

The article is great for explaining someone staring at you when you can see them, however it didn't cover feeling someone staring at you when you can't see them at all. I noticed all of your examples were when you can see someone even inadvertently, but not when you can not see someone and just feel their eyes on you. When you feel someone staring at you and turn around and they are there staring this is a different feeling and can not be ascribed to vision, or sound in some cases etc.... you just felt them staring and turned to see them doing it. Energy took place to let you know this the "soul" was aware it was being watched, and reacted by looking back. I'd like to see you go more in depth concerning.

So you notice things in your peripheral, woohoo. This doesn't answer in the slightest how you could be sitting with your eyes closed and still sense someone staring, or be facing away from the person and still sense them. The writer is only taking the situation where the person is in front of you into account.

Under an hour ago, I took a peep out the blinds of my apartment window, to see the cause of some noise. A pickup was leaving, pulling out onto the street. Even though I was looking through a probably 4 mm 'crack', the driver turned his head about 85 degrees and looked right exactly in my direction. I've noticed this happens frequently, and with me, too, being watched by others. Just keep track of how many times you happen to look up or over from what you're doing, to see someone gazing at you. It would be interesting to know what Special Forces soldiers have to say about this, because truly, as I have seen, it is possible to stimulate someone to look your way, right at you, with them having no idea of you being there. How do you stop that from happening in military situations? Do they teach it in training? It has to be something is emanated from the eyes or brain, that is detectible, or it is low-numbers skin cells with reception ability, I.e. to a degree your skin watches around you in areas your eyes don't cover. It does seem to be proportionate to the amount of skin exposed. And probably, the ability is not present in everyone, and not equally in those it is.